Early Memories, Normal Personality Variation, and Coping

Relationships between earliest childhood memories (EMs)and normal-range personality traits and coping variables were assessed with data provided by 134 undergraduates. Subjects completed an EM questionnaire, the NEO Personality Inventory-Revised (Costa & McCrae, 1992), and the Constructive Thinking inventory (Epstein, 1992; Epstein & Meier, 1989). EMs were scored via the Early Memory Relationship Scoring System (EMRSS; Acklin, Bibb, Boyer, & Jain, 1991) and the Transparent Bipolar Inventory (Goldberg, 1992). Factor analytic results supported the EM Relationship scale of the EMRSS. Correlational analyses suggested that the EM Relationship scale was inversely related to negative expectations of the future and dichotomous thinking, but unrelated to general neuroticism and coping ability in this nonclinical sample. The EM protagonist's level of activity was associated with subjects' general coping ability, the ability to avoid emotional upset, and inversely related to general neuroticism.